Electrically-controlled cloth guide and straightener



y E. AHERN ETAL 1,722,261.

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED CLOTH GUIDE AND STRAIGHTENER Filed Dec. 19 27 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2

INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

July so, 1929. T. E. AHERN Err AL 1,722,261

ELECTRICALLY CONTRQLLED CLOTH GUIDE AND STRAIGHTENER Filed Dec. 6. 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4

I 6'5 INVENTOR.

7770/7706 15 456/77 BY M A TTORNEY.

July 30,1929. T. E. AHERN Er AL 1,722,261

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED CLOTH GUIDE AND STRAIGHTENER Filed Dec. 6, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet a 5i ax INVENTOR.

Thomas E A/zerq BY w/1&9 )6. M

A TTORNE Y.

Patented July 30, 1929.

UNITED stars a a Y THOMAS E; AHERN; onrnovrnnucn- ANDJOHN n. EVANS, or APPONAUG, RHODE ,ISLAND.

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ELEGTRIGALLY-GONTROLLED CLOTH GTlIDE AND STRAIGI'ITENER.

Applicationfiled December 6, .1927. Serial No. 238,128.

Our invention relates to governing devices for guiding and straightening textile fabrics, wherein pairs of selve'dge rollers are employed, and more particularly to the electrically controlled typeof such devices.

The essential objects of our invention'ar'e to effectively balance the rolls and improve their arrangement and operating parts; to perfectly coordinate the action of the rolls and electrical apparatus; to reducethe load of the magnet coil and thus CliHllIllSll overheating and excessive strain of the parts; to diminish theoperating cost of our device; to minimize arcing between the electric con tacts whereby accidental ignition of the cloth is avoided; to insure uniform pressure of'the rolls throughout their lengths, and-to adapt our-device to cloth strips of "different widths.

Other objects and advantagesof the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

To the above recited ends primarily our invention consists in such parts and in such combinations of parts as fall'within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown a preferred form of embodiment of our invention,

Figures 1 and 2 are a fragmentary front elevation and a top plan view respectively of our novel device.

Figure 3, a longitudinal section of the same on line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figures 4., 5 and 6, sections on lines-H, 5-5, and 66 respectively of Figure 1',

Figure 7 a section taken on line 7+7 of Figure 5,

Figure 8, a transverse section of the. head of the contact lever, and

Figure't), a fragmentary detail view of the' contacts.

parts throughout the views.v

The invention will be described in connection withthe specific embodiment shown,

inthe upper portion of the wall 15.

Similar reference cha racte'rs indicate like l yoke, exerting sutfie shown it comprises a bracket plate 15 provided with an attaching lug 16 at its rear end having a threaded aperture 17 for the reception of an attaching bolt 18 for engagement with a textile machine frame 19. Attached to the rear portion of the plate 15 is a rectangular housing comprising in this instance a base 20, inner and outer end walls 21 and 22 respectively, a rear wall 23, and a top wall 24-, the last being providedwith an insulated opening 25. Bolts'28 connect the plate 15 and wall 21. Fixed in the forward portion of the plate 15-is a shaft 30 upon which is'mounted roll 31 which is normally in peripheral engagement with a companion roll '32, inthe same horizontal plane, rotatably mounted on a swinging shaft 31journaled in the lower ends of depending arms 36 fixed to or integral with a sleeve 37 loose on a shaft-39 fixed at its end The lower ends of thearms 36 are connected by a rearwardlyvdirected yoke 11. The roll. 32, therefore, depends'and swings from the shaft 39 into and out of contact with therelatively stationary roll 31.

' Securedby screws 43 to the rear wall 23 of the housing are arms 45 supporting a magnet represented in a general way by 47. The magnet includes a rectangular yoke 18 comprising as shown in Figure 6, a lower limb fixed by pins 51 to the arms 45, and intermediate portion 52, and an upper limb 53, the latter constituting the magnet core. Surrounding the core is a spool 55 comprising a coil 56 and, in this instance,- a covering '57. 'Upon opposite sides ofthe spool coil project terminal contact plates 59. An

-angular armature lever 62 is pivoted intermediate itslength-to the-magnet and comprises a flat upright arm 63 engageable with the core 53 of the magnet, and a-flatarm 65 disposed at an obtuse angle thereto at itslower end, together with inturned lateral cars 67 near the lower end of the arm 63 perforated, as at 68, to receive pivot pins 69 in the sides of the yoke portion 50. A helical spring 71 has one end fixed to the yoke portion 50 and its'other end to the lever arm 65. Near the gageable with the yoke. The spring 71'maintains the armature arm 63 in constantco'ntact A force to with the roll.

inlet "t ll in" tight comet free end of the latter is a stop pin 73 en- 31, which is the position of the parts during the normal or gripping operation of the rolls;

A horizontal guide plate 7 5 is fixed at one end in the plate 15 below the roll 32 and is provided with an oblong longitudinal guide slot 7 8 through which loosely passes a feeler or contact lever pivoted intermediate its length upon a stud 82 threaded into a cavity 84 in the free end of a post 85 fixed at its opposite end in the base 20. As shown in Figure 7 the stud 82 is surrounded by a sleeve 88 provided with a perforation 89 forming a continuation of a threaded hole 90 in the lever for an adjusting screw 91 adapted to pass through the perforation and register in any one of a radial series of cavities 92 in the detachable stud 82. By this means the lever 80 may be radially adjusted. The lower end of the shaft of the lever 80 is diametrically enlarged to form a head 93 which, as shown in Figure 8, comprises a sleeve 94 of insulating material around the shaft of the lever, and an external copper band 95. The portion of the lever 80 forward of the stud 82 is longer and heavier than the portion in the rear of the stud.

Disposed in the rear of the post 85 parallel therewith is a bar 98 of insulating material fastened by a screw 99 to the back wall 23 of the housing. Fixed to a side face of the bar are two similar attaching plates 101, spaced from each other, having upon their adjacent ends integral arms 102 upon whose free ends are laterally yielding contact fingers 104, as shown in Figure 9. In detail each finger rests upon the face of its arm, and in an intermediate portion of both, the finger and arm have perforations 106, said perforations 106 registering with each other and through which perforations loosely pass a pin 108 having fast to its lower end a plate or washer 109, and upon its upper end a plate or disk 110. A spiral spring 112 engages the disk with one end, and presses against the finger at its inner end. In the end of the finger is a notch 114 into which extends a projection 115. The fingers have oppositely disposed bends 117 forming flaring terminal portions 119 adapted to be engaged and expanded by the contactv of the lever head 93 therebetween when the lever is swung to one extreme of its travel.

The electrical connections include conductors 121 and 122 from any convenient source of electrical current extending through an insulating collar 123 surrounding the opening 25 in the top wall 24. The end of conductor 121 is fixed by a binding screw 125 to a binding post 126 on one of the contact plates 59 of the magnet, while the end of conductor 122 is held by a bind ing screw 128 to a post 129 upon one of the attaching plates 101. An insulated conductor 131 has one end engaged by a binding screw 132 and post 133 on the second attaching plate, while its other end is engaged by a binding screw 135 and post 136 to the second contact plate of the magnet.

Our device is usually employed in pairs, downwardly inclined towards their free ends, and laterally spaced from each other upon the machine frame, so that the cloth strip simultaneously passes through both sets of rolls. A description of the operation of one of the pair will serve for both. The 75 cloth passes downwardly in a vertical path gripped by the rolls 31 and 32 with its edge adjacent or touching the feeler or contact lever 80 positioned as shown in full lines in Figure 5. If the cloth in its passage moves laterally out of its normal longitudinal line of travel it pushes the lever 80 to'the broken line position thereby forcing the lever head 93 into contact with the flaring portions 119 of the contact fingers 104 and slightly distending them to insure a more perfect contact. This completes the electric circuit of the magnet, which includes the conductors 121, 122 and 131 and energizes the magnet which draws the arm 63 of the armature lever back against the magnet core 53, to the position shown in broken lines in Figures 4 and 6, thus briefly overcoming the power of the spring 71, and permitting the roll 32 by gravity to swing a slight distance away from the roll 31. This temporary release of the grip of the rolls on the cloth permits the latter to return to its original path, and the return of the lever by gravity to its original position breaks the circuit and permits the spring 71 to return the roll 32 to original normal position.

It will be observed that the roll 32 is continuously, except at brief intervals, maintained in position by mechanical means, namely by the spring 71, and that the electrical means is only occasionally active, which relieves the load on the magnet, prevents overheating and strains, and minimizes the quantity of electric current required.

By the use of the metalliccontact fingers cooperating with the metallic band 95 dan ger of fire from arcing is avoided.

The radial adjustability of the lever 80 upon its stud 82 accommodates the former to cloth of different widths.

The location of the armature lever 62 adjacent an intermediate portion of the pressure roll 32, rather than adjacent either of its ends insures a uniform pressure of the rolls throughout their lengths.

We claim 1. In a cloth governing device of the type set forth, a pair of guide rolls relatively movable to and from each other through which the cloth travels, a pivoted armature lever adapted to advance and release one of the rolls relatively to the other, a spring acting to move the armature in one direction,

a stud adjacent the rolls, a contact lever journaled intermediate its length upon the stud and engageable with a cloth passed through the rolls, means for radially adjusting the lever upon the stud, contact fingers having oppositely disposed bends forming flaring terminals between which is engageable the contact lever, and a magnet cooperating with the armature in electric circuit with the fingers.

2. In a cloth governing device of the type set forth the combination with the stationary and movable feed rolls, of a vibratory armature lever movable in one direction for interengaging the two rolls, and in the other direction for releasing one of the rolls, a magnet comprising a yoke pivotally supporting the lever and a core engageable With the lever to move the same in one direction when 2 the core is energized, a spool upon the yoke surrounding the core, a spring upon the yoke for moving the lever in the opposite direction, terminal plates spaced from each other adjacent the magnet, opposed cont-act fingers yieldingly mounted upon the plates and having oppositely disposed bends forming outwardly flaring terminal lips, a contact lever pivotally supported intermediate its length adjacent the rolls and engagcable at one end with a cloth carried by the rolls, a head upon the other end of the contact lever comprising a layer of insulating material and a peripheral metallic band engageable with and be tween the lips of the fingers to make or break an electrical circuit, and electric conductors connecting the plates and spool in circuit.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our signatures.

THOMAS E. AI-IERN. JOHN H. EVANS. 

